PDP urges Fed Govt to immortalise Things Fall Apart author

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday urged the Federal Government to immortalise the late Prof. Chinua Achebe.

A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, said the late Achebe would be greatly remembered for his unwavering anti-corruption stand; his efforts towards promoting high moral values in the country as well as his contributions toward national development.

Metuh said: “Achebe was a rare gift to the nation. He was a hero and a great patriot who used his intellectual and physical energies to wage an unrelenting war against corruption and championed the inculcation of true moral values and social integrity in our polity.

“Achebe’s contribution to national human capital development using his books is unprecedented. His works stood out in projecting African cultural and social values.

“ He used them to instill and sustain national pride and the spirit of patriotism and nationalism in contemporary Nigerians in particular and Africans in general.”

The PDP urged the Federal Government to honour Achebe’s numerous contributions to the nation by immediately commencing works on the rehabilitation of Enugu-Ogidi-Onitsha road, which passes through his home town, Ogidi in Anambra State.

Former Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari said the late Achebe was a patriotic Nigerian.

He said the late author stood for what he believed in.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Rotimi Amaechi, Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke and his Anambra State counterpart, Peter Obi, are mourning the renowned writer.

Amaechi, who is also the River State governor, said he is saddened by the development.

The governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. David Iyofor, described the late Achebe as one of Nigeria’s and Africa’s finest literary giants whose works speak volumes.

Amaechi said: “I love and have read A man of the people over and over again, mostly because of its portrayal of leadership as it is in Africa. I have also commissioned that a movie be made out of it for the benefit of more people, especially our youths who are the leaders of tomorrow. It is such a shock to me that our dearly beloved Achebe, the man who gave us several notable works of literature is gone.”

“I still have fond memories of the time I spent with Prof. Achebe at his home in Providence, Rhodes Island and when I was invited as a keynote speaker to his annual African Colloquim at Brown’s University. His intelligence still motivated me. I remember his kind words, his fatherly advice and encouragement. Achebe is a man that will be greatly missed not only by Nigerians and Africans, but the world.

“As the nation mourns this irreparable loss, I pray that God grants his family the strength to bear this great loss, and to all of us, I say find solace in the fact that Achebe impacted our world positively. He lived a fulfilled life fighting for change in the political landscape of our great nation and Africa, using his pen and voice, and has left behind an array of literary works that are indeed most remarkable.”

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Christian Ita, Imoke said the late Achebe was not just an iconic writer but also a moral compass for Nigeria and Africa.

The governor said: “His literary offerings made name for Nigeria, while his moral interventions ignited and deepened national discuss on several key issues in the country.

“Nigeria and Africa has lost her most iconic cultural figure! A writer of whom Nelson Mandela said that ‘in his company, the prison walls came crashing down.”

Obi said: ” I speak with the Chinua Achebe family every week. This morning, upon my arrival at the Akanu Ibian Airport , Enugu, I received a telephone call from his son to the effect that the Iroko has fallen.

“The world has lost a giant, Africa has lost a rare gem, may his erudite soul rest in peace.”

A former Governor of Enugu State and former National Chairman of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, described the death of Prof. Achebe as shocking.

Nwodo, in statement in Abuja, said inspite of his being bound in wheelchair, the late Prof. Achebe cut out the image of immortality.

He said: “I grew up to know Prof. Achebe through his book Things Fall Apart, and have come to believe that any day we wake up, Achebe will be there with something new and exciting for us to read. He was undoubtedly Africa’s greatest literary mind.”